Volume 1: First Arrival Chapter 043 Standing by the River
Kirk, his back and knees were full of arrows.
However, Callum was completely oblivious, his mind completely immersed in the case, his face full of seriousness and concentration, "So what, Ms. Dove?"
“…in the movie, Kevin found a pigeon lady near the Gapstow Arch Bridge and later got her help to fight off the bad guys.” The kind and enthusiastic Alex helped to explain.
Seeing Callum showing confusion, as if he couldn't understand why the "bad guy" appeared, Alex waved his hand and said, "That's another story."
"All in all, the Pigeon Lady and Kevin become good friends, and at the end of the movie, Kevin returns to the Arch Bridge to give the Pigeon Lady a Christmas present."
"You mean to say that the child went to the arch bridge and hid himself?"
Alex said the last sentence while looking at Kirk. He completely ignored the touched expression on Callum's face after hearing the word "Christmas gift".
Kirk was silently pulling out the arrow and cleared his throat. "Or, he went to the arch bridge to seek help, just like adults go to the church to find a priest when they encounter problems that cannot be solved."
"Of course, it is very possible that my guess is wrong , and the child is still somewhere in the hotel, or hiding in his room."
“ There are .”
Lacking details and evidence, Kirk could not guarantee his accuracy based solely on his intuition; he had never even seen the child.
But now, they don't have time to think carefully. He must trust his intuition and conduct an investigation based on evidence and clues. Every second counts.
"Alex, you need to confirm the child's identity. Whether it's to notify the guardian or to check for possible mischief, we need to confirm the identity."
“Callum, you stay in the hotel and search with the security team. Ask the lobby manager to cooperate and conduct a carpet search to find the whereabouts of the child.”
Kirk completed the task assignment quickly and efficiently, without any of his usual lazy look.
They need to hurry up.
Judging from the current clues, everything points to a prank, which also means that they can no longer ignore the lobby manager's request to lift the blockade.
They needed evidence or witnesses before they could ask the lobby manager to continue cooperating, otherwise Callum would have to end the police call as a false report.
At that time, if Kirk continues to investigate on his own, he may face more obstacles.
Without wasting time, Kirk split into three groups and left the Plaza Hotel and headed towards Central Park across the street.
The Gapstadt Arch Bridge is a famous attraction in Central Park. It is located about 300 meters northwest of the Plaza Hotel and can be reached on foot.
The arch bridge is surrounded by lush trees. In autumn, the red maple leaves are like fire, and in spring, they are lush and green. When you look up, you can see the high-rise buildings surrounding it. When you look down, you can see the elegant and leisurely scene of the flowing water under the small bridge. The two different scenes form a kind of dislocation, which is quite unique.
In addition to "Home Alone 2", many movies set in New York have also been filmed here, and it has long become a popular check-in destination for movie fans.
From a distance, Kirk could take in the entire surrounding scenery.
As we walked forward, we first saw a coin-operated telescope beside the river. Then, as we went a little further forward, we could see a little creature standing beside the river under the arch bridge. He was standing on the edge of a stone, looking precariously, looking down at the gurgling water, a little absent-minded.
That figure looked a little sad, a little lonely, and a little confused. The small body stood alone in an oasis in the middle of the city's steel and concrete. He seemed to be able to feel the coldness of spring that had not completely dissipated swallowing him up.
His thin body and slender legs were shivering in the cold wind. If the wind was stronger, he might fall forward into the water in front of him.
Kirk slowed down his pace a little and looked around. Unlike the bustling streets, Central Park seemed a little deserted before noon. He could only see a few scattered figures, some jogging, some sitting on benches in a daze, and some following the footsteps of their dogs.
Finally, his gaze returned to the figure in front of him.
To sum up, this little guy is very likely the protagonist who caused this chaos.
"Don't jump."
"If you jump, I will have no choice but to jump after you."
Kirk shouted at the little guy standing by the river, and it was like a stone falling into a calm lake. The surrounding pigeons fluttered in the air, and the tranquility of the small corner of Central Park was also startled.
The child suddenly turned his head, revealing a young and immature face, with light brown curly hair, round cheeks, and slightly drooping messy hair covering his eyes, but one could still see the panic and loneliness in his dark brown eyes, which surged up in an instant.
The child was slightly stunned, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Kirk shrugged lightly, and did not approach easily, keeping his distance. Anyway, the stream in front of him was not deep, so there was no need to panic even if an accident occurred. What was more important now was to establish a bond of trust and open the door of heart——
Especially children.
Normally, children always seem to trust others easily; but at the same time, children's crystal clear hearts are like crystals. Once hurt, they are difficult to recover. Instead, they become more vigilant and resistant, and they block themselves out regardless of anything, blocking out all voices and help.
Kirk, can't rush things, even though the Plaza Hotel behind him is in chaos, he still needs to proceed step by step.
The corner of his mouth curled up in a smile, and he stood on tiptoes to take a look at the gurgling stream.
"Honestly, I don't want to jump. Do you know how much trouble it is to dry-clean a suit?"
"What's more troublesome is that I need to take out all the candies, documents, notes, wallet, mobile phone and other items. Otherwise, if they get wet accidentally, I will have to deal with them in a series of ways afterwards."
"However, compared to these troubles, my real worry is the freezing cold river water."
This one sentence aroused the child's curiosity, and he subconsciously turned his head to look over, "How cold is it?"
Kirk pursed his lips. "Although it is April now, the spring in New York is always very cold. People always have misunderstandings about the spring in this city. I think the river water should be only slightly better than the glacier now."
“Have you ever been to Wisconsin?”
Child, "What?"
“It has the coldest winters there, and I grew up there, near Chippewa Falls.”
"I remember when I was a kid, my father took my brother and me to Lake Wisuta to break the ice and fish. One time, I stepped on the thin ice and fell into the icy lake."
"Wow, that taste..."
"It's like a thousand sharp knives stabbing into your skin. You can't breathe, you can't think, you can't feel anything except pain."
Kirk kept chattering and describing things vividly, and before he knew it, the child's attention was completely attracted by Kirk. Although he was still looking at the stream with his peripheral vision, he couldn't help turning his head to look at Kirk. Following Kirk's words, he showed a curious and inquiring look, and the atmosphere gradually eased.
"Of course, I'm not saying that the river water in front of us is that cold. After all, New York is not Wisconsin, but believe me, you don't want to challenge it."
"If I could, I really, really don't want to jump in, but the problem is that if I see a child jumping into the river and do nothing to save him, the saliva of New Yorkers will easily drown me, and I might even die socially on social networks."
"So, you didn't give me any other choice."
